Abstract
The fibre-volume-fraction (FVF) measurement of fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) is crucial in understanding and characterising their mechanical performance. To date, there has not been a standardised, labour-efficient method in determining the FVF of a non-crimp fabric (NCF) carbon reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTPs). An alternative method such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) has merely been commonly used for carbon-fibre reinforced thermosets (CFRTSs) and glass-fibre reinforced thermosets (GFRTSs). Therefore, this paper reports a range of macro TGA measurements of the constituent materials of two NCF CFRTPs; (i) T700 carbon/polyamide6.6 (PA6.6) and (ii) T700 carbon/polyphenylene sulphide (PPS). The TGA measurements were performed using two different purge gases (air and nitrogen) and the mass degradation with respect to time, temperature and atmospheres were recorded and discussed. Additionally, fractographic analysis on the fibres was carried out to scrutinise and further discuss the findings following the TGA. It was concluded that TGA provided a suitable and reliable alternative method to measure the FVF of CFRTPs.
Highlights
The fibre-volume-fraction (FVF) of fibre reinforce plastics (FRPs) plays an important role in determining the mechanical performance of a composite material system
The standardised national and international thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) procedures described [3, 4, 5, 6] were established from glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRPs) whereas the use of TGA in measuring the FVF is not standardised for CFPRPs
Following the TGA, it was calculated that average FVF of the T700/PA6.6 is 52.3% (CV 1⁄4 1:3%) and its void content is 0.6% (CV 1⁄4 26:1%)
Summary
The fibre-volume-fraction (FVF) of fibre reinforce plastics (FRPs) plays an important role in determining the mechanical performance of a composite material system. The typical method used to determine the FVF comprises the removal of polymer by burn off or acid digestion. These techniques are labour intensive and require disposal of toxic waste. The procedure was done following Yee and Stephens’s technique [9] where the duration of the TGA process is approximately 80 minutes with a maximum temperature of 600C.
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